The Communication of God through His
Creation
by
Brendon Ojala
A Research Project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Spiritual Directors’
Training Programme of Spiritual Growth Ministries (www.sgm.org.nz).
The Introduction
I have a confession to make. I know the answer should be “in church”, but when asked
the question, “where do you find God?’ my answer, at the risk of getting rapped over the
knuckles by the Sunday school teacher in my head, is outside … in the bush … at the
beach … wandering over the rocks. That is where I find God. Extracts from my journal
provide an indication of this.
“I have a sense of the beauty of the green today ...it was very soft and peaceful…a
good valley to spend the day!” (August 2000)
“…sat in the sun for a couple of hours. I really felt the sun was God’s gift to me as well as the dancing clouds.” (August 2000)
“I feel blessed to be in this beautiful creation. God is abundantly lavishing His
love on me, and then the sun pops through and the warmth on me is another
reminder of this.” (October 2001)
As someone on ‘The Way’, I wonder about this experience. I wonder if Christians
through the centuries have had similar experiences? I wonder if fellow present day
journeyers experience God through His Creation, and if they do, in what ways this
occurs?
As a Spiritual Director in training, I wonder about the implications of my experience.
Can I encourage others to use creation, God’s Creation to help them experience the
Creator?
I wonder!
The Question
The purpose of my research is to explore if and how God communicates with others in a
natural setting. I wanted to examine if this occurred in the present day as well as explore
the literature and search for this experience in the Biblical and Christian tradition.
Specifically, ‘I wanted to find out if and how God communicated while individuals were
in a natural setting.’
If individuals did in fact hear from God, I then wanted to discover ‘what it was about this
natural setting that enabled people to hear from God.’
These two questions form the basis of this research paper.
1
The Traditional Wisdom
The following examples of Biblical wisdom and Christian tradition would indicate that
God has used His Creation to communicate with people throughout the ages.
In the Old Testament, David had an awareness of his place in the universe after reflecting
on Creation:
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars
which you created - who are we that you should be mindful of us, that you should
care for us?” Psalm 8:1-91
We are told in chapters 38 and 39 of Job, that God answered Job’s questioning “out of the
storm” (38:1)
Jesus often used natural metaphors to communicate a message to his listeners. These
ranged from the provision made for birds in terms of food and clothing (Mat 6:26),
reflections on seeds germinating in different soil types (Mat 13:1-8), the miracle of seeds
growing to maturity (Mark 4:26-29) to Jesus comparing himself to a grape vine (John
15:1-17)
Paul has an understanding, as recorded in Romans 1, that the “invisible attributes” of God
can be clearly seen and understood through the created, “tangible” things of the world. In
fact he warns that we have no excuse for misunderstanding who God is since the purpose
of these created things is to point us towards God:
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his Eternal power and
Godhead, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20)
Since Biblical times many of the dominant worldviews have minimised or negated the
importance of the created world in spiritual awareness. Platonism, for example,
“distrusted all that is natural”2, and saw ‘spiritual value’ only in the abstract. The
scientific revolution led by Francis Bacon (1561-1626) sought not to understand and find
God through Creation but to manipulate creation and bring it under human control.
Despite often negative world views as to the place of creation, and a generalised belief in
the Western church that “nature … is counted of no worth on the soul’s journey to God”3,
there have been strands of Christian thought that have valued creation and viewed it as a
means to experience God.
1
All Biblical quotes are taken from The New International Version, (Zondervan Bible Publishers, Grand
Rapids, Michigan, 1984)
2
P.DeVos, C De Witt, E. Dykema, V. Ehlers, L. Wilkinson. Earth Keeping in the Nineties. (William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1991) p197.
3
ibid p302.
2
The Desert Fathers, although using wilderness as a reactive place of escape from
distraction rather than pro-actively seeking to embrace God through their new
environment, still discovered God in that natural setting.
The medieval mystics experienced a deep sense of God’s goodness through His creation.
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) speaks of experiencing the immediacy of God in
creation (which she refers to as ‘the word’) as she writes:
The Word is living, being, spirit, all verdant greening, all creativity.
This Word manifests in every creature. Now this is how the spirit is in the flesh the Word is indivisible from God4.
St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), perhaps the best-known mystic, was famous for his
connection with the things God created:
“Francis …loved not only his fellow-men, but all his fellow creatures –birds,
beasts, fishes and even creeping things - for in each one of them he perceived the
handiwork of God”5
Julian of Norwich, (1342-1413) when contemplating a Hazel Nut saw three things:
The first is that God made it; the second is that God loves it; the third is that God
preserves it. But what did I see in it? It is that God is the Creator and the
protector and the lover. For until I am substantially united to him, I can never
have prefect rest or true happiness, until, that is, I am so attached to him that
there can be no created thing between my God and me.6
The Celtic Christians “had a deep sense of the goodness of creation and the presence of
God in it.”7 Much of their writings, prayer and worship focused on connecting with God
through Creation.
The Eastern Orthodox tradition has embraced creation and seen the redemption of the
whole of creation as an integral part of God’s plan. They emphasise the importance of
relationship with others and the connectedness all of creation has. Orthodox Scholar
Paulos Gregorios writes:
“The creative energy of God is the true being of all that is; matter is that spirit or
energy in physical form. Therefore, we should regard our human environment as
the energy of God in a form that is accessible to our senses.8
4
Gabriel Uhle (ed.). Meditations with Hildegard of Bingen. (Bear & Co, Santa Fe, NM, 1982, p49) as
quoted in Earth Keeping in the nineties, p142.
5
Stephen Clissold. The Wisdom of St Francis and His Companions. (Sheldon Press London, 1978) p41.
6
“Showings”, p183 as recorded in: Gloria Durka. Praying with Julian of Norwich. (St Mary’s Press,
Winona, 1989), p42.
7
Earth Keeping in the Nineties … p139.
8
Wesley Granberg-Michaelson (ed.). Tending the Garden. p90 as quoted in Tim Cooper. Green
Christianity. (Hodder and Stoughton Publishers, London, 1990), p155.
3
In the last century C.S. Lewis stated that God has chosen to use nature to allow us to
connect, if only in a limited way, with the glory of God:
“Nature is only the image, the symbol; but it is the symbol Scripture invites me to
use. We are summoned to pass in through Nature, beyond her, into that
splendour which she fitfully reflects.” 9
Current day writer Paul Hawker is gaining increased recognition in Christian circles for
his research into everyday peoples religious experience, much of which occurs in a
natural setting. He recounts one of his experiences:
“I watched the setting sun cast colours onto my clouds - pinks then golds with
purples out on the far edges. It was so beautiful I held my breath so as to capture
the consummate peace of this exquisite moment. There was no great voice, no
burning bush, but internally something “clicked.” I had a deep, clear sense, a
fragment of awareness, that all before me had been created, and that this creation
somehow accommodated me... A warm feeling grew inside me, a knowing that I
was enjoyed as much as I was enjoying the moment10.
Tim Cooper, an English Christian Environmentalist identifies Creation as being
sacramental in nature: “The sacramental principle may thus be extended to the whole
creation, which is seen as the outward, visible sign of an inward, spiritual grace.11
As we have seen, from Biblical times, it is possible to trace a thread of Christian teaching
and experience, even in the face of opposing worldviews that acknowledges the goodness
of creation, and the ability to use this creation to deepen an experience with the Creator.
The Method
To provide a practical opportunity to answer my ‘questions’ I chose to place a group of
people alone in the wilderness for a period of time, and encourage them to look for
examples of God communicating. Following this experience I interviewed them to
discover if God had communicated, and how he had chosen to do so. The interview was
also used as an opportunity to help the participants explore and deepen any experiences
of God that may have occurred during the solo experience.
I followed a standard format throughout the interview process. I firstly asked the
participants to recount their ‘solo’, to give a report of what happened for them. I allowed
them to tell their story without interruption. I then asked the participants if God had
communicated. Following some clarification and unpacking around this, I went back to
any incidents that I perceived involved possible religious experience and encouraged
them to reflect some more on these events, to wonder about the feelings, and where God
9
C.S. Lewis. The Weight of Glory (A sermon first given at the church of St Mary of the Virgin, Oxford,
June 8, 1941) published in Transposition and other Addresses. (Geoffrey Bles Ltd, London, 1949) p31
10
Paul Hawker. Secret Affairs of the Soul. (Northstone Publishing, Kelowna, BC, 2000) p20
11
Green Christianity… p164
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was in this event. I finished by asking them to recall the factors that had enabled God to
communicate to them, if this in fact had happened.
The group I worked with was relatively homogenous12. It consisted of seven people, four
male - three female, ranging from the age of nineteen to twenty-eight years of age. They
were all professing Christians and had all been raised in ‘Christian families’. The
participants were all of European descent. They enjoyed the outdoors and were willing to
pay money to be cold, tired and hungry for a holiday weekend.
The seven participants were individually given their ‘spot’ just above the bush line on Mt
Hauhungatahi, on the Central Plateau. It was a cold but still and clear Saturday afternoon
in June. They carried warm clothes, a sleeping bag, some snacks and a tarpaulin with
which to construct a shelter. The participants were given an article on contemplation and
a New Testament and were asked to observe what was happening outside and within
them. They were told they would be picked up sometime the following morning.
The experience had some limitations in terms of achieving my goal. Although the group
spent three days together in Creation, the period of the “solo” was relatively short (about
sixteen hours) and included a period of night-time. This limited the amount of observing
and contemplating that was done. The weather was very cold, which meant there was a
large element of ‘survival’ involved in the experience. While this could provide fertile
opportunity for Religious Experience, Abraham Maslow would tell us that while people
are dealing with issues of basic human necessity there is little concern for ‘self
actualisation’ or spiritual awareness.
Throughout the research I found myself questioning if particular incidents the
participants reported were in fact from God. I have chosen to take their observations at
face value, as seemingly likely that they came from God.
To get a more definitive answer as to whether any specific experience is a religious
experience I recognise a process of discernment is needed. It would seem to the author
that the discipline of Spiritual Direction could play a key part in this discernment for
many directees, and in fact one of the key roles of the Spiritual Director is to aid in this
discernment process.
12
I understand working with a homogenous group provides the ability to more accurately draw
generalisations for others who share the same traits as that group, whilst limiting the ability to draw
conclusions to those outside this group.
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The findings
a)
The communication
After interviewing the seven participants it was apparent that God had communicated
through nature. At the end of the interview process, six out of seven of the participants
had recognised God’s communication.
While all the participants had individual and unique experiences, I was aware that there
were similarities between the experiences. For the purpose of analysis, I have drawn
together the similar experiences and will quote the participants verbatim to highlight
these.13
1
God communicated metaphorically
While some participants were observing their external surroundings, they made
connections to situations in their life that had a similarity to the observed surroundings.
Some participants made this connection during their solo period, while some of the
connections were only made during the interview process. Examples of these metaphors
follow:
i)
“…Waking up in the morning …and not wanting to get up because it was cold,
just feeling safe and secure, and not wanting to go…that is probably a metaphor,
not really wanting to go out.” (G)
As can be deduced G became aware of the metaphor during our interview.
conversation continued to discuss what in her life, G didn’t want to ‘go out to’.
ii)
The
“I could see the glow of the sun, but I couldn’t get in a place where I could see
the sun … I loved the glow but hated the fact that I couldn’t get into the glow.”
After some reflection in our interview about how God communicated, B stated:
“ I wanted to go and stand in the glow, cos that was like God.”
13
I have received permission to quote the participants. I have assigned them a letter and changed
identifying features to protect their confidentiality.
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iii)
Interviewer:
A:
I:
A:
I:
A:
Were there times you would say that God communicated with you?
Up where the snow is there are small bushes, but further down there are
shrubs and smaller trees going down to the tree line. I was thinking it is
all so different, all for a purpose, different purposes. I thought that was
amazing that God would create all these different areas. So everything
had its place and purpose.
So did that relate to bits of your life?
often my life is in disorder … it was a reassurance. (pause)
Was there a message in that for you?
I thought God is pretty powerful to control all this, so if I rely more on
God than myself, my world would be a little less chaotic.
2
Creation was recognised as a gift given from God
As the participants observed and contemplated their natural surroundings, they became
aware that the scene they were viewing had been given to them as a gift from God.
Almost all of the participants recounted this experience:
i)
When contemplating on creation, B stated:
“This is God’s gift for me, this is beautiful … it was almost like…God was my
guide, pointing things out to me.”
ii)
“There is nothing else to do…just sitting there in wonder at the sunset and the
mountain, and like, wow, this is Gods creation, and He can see me here.” (G)
iii)
“I thought the sparkling frost on the inside of the tarp was amazing…‘wow,
God’s made a cool planet.’” (C)
iv)
“…So to turn around and see the most excellent sunset just drifting down and
through the clouds…two contrasting things, you’ve got the cold frigid mountain,
and you turn around and the warm sunshine, so I was feeling quite lucky, and
quite in awe as well, considering I could have been stuck anywhere in the world.”
I asked: “so tell me what was happening for you at that time?”
“This is so natural it is awesome … and then (thinking) that God made it.” (E)
v)
“When looking at mountains... (I) had a sense of ‘this is here for me.’” (A)
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3
The gift was internalised
For some participants, their recognition that Creation was a gift from God was
internalised into a felt presence of peace, calm and love. These feelings were identified
as being from God:
i)
While recounting her experience G stated “It actually got a bit emotional”
Later in the interview I went back to that statement and G was able to identify
what the emotion was. After some thought she recounted being “overwhelmed by
thoughts, God’s grace and love for me.”
ii)
“I was just looking up at these stars, in the middle of no where, I thought that was
Primo, and I felt really calm, really at peace, I just started praying, like we are
talking now, like God was right next to me…like a mate.”(E)
iii)
“Just looking at the sun setting on Taranaki, and then looking back behind and
seeing the purple glow on Ruapehu, I thought ‘wow this is amazing’, and at that
point in time I had a feeling that this was God showing me how much He loved me
by providing me with this amazing view and this magnificent sunset…” (A)
I asked the question ‘so how was it that you knew God loved you by looking at the sun
setting?’:
“I guess sitting there …you would describe it as feeling warm inside … felt like
had been given a gift from God ... “I didn’t feel alone … God felt close … I felt
safe.”
iv) “I guess it gave me a kind of relaxed feeling, just took some of the weight off my
shoulders … it is kind of like peace I suppose … I hadn’t actually thought about that,
but because we have been talking about it (that experience of peace) I kind of feel that
now. (F)
4 Participants had an ‘awareness’
Although none of the participants recognised an audible voice from God, a number of
them had ‘realisations’ or had ‘something in their head’ give a specific message.
Participants gained a deeper understanding of their life experience:
i)
In response to the question, “so you felt God communicating through the sunset?”
“Yeah just that…this is my creation, I have got it under control, just rest in this,
enjoy my creation.” (G)
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ii)
“God often communicates with me through realisations ... I realised I was really
busy in my life, was thinking a lot about that, and was frustrated how busy my life
was … because it was a time that we were supposed to think about God, I realised
how many things are going on in my life, and how many distractions there
actually are.” (F)
iii)
“God was saying to me to stop just thinking about these good things and act on
them.” (G)
iv)
“I just felt forgiven, I had this feeling that …everything is going to be OK, like not
to worry about a house, or my job or anything, that God was going to be there, it
was going to be OK.” (E)
b)
The Enablers
It seems God spoke to the participants while they were in His Creation. What was it that
allowed God to communicate? Or perhaps more accurately, what was it that enabled the
participants to hear?
Three factors seemed to be reoccurring for the participants in my research. I have called
these ‘enablers’ and they were: being alone, having time and observing beauty.
1
Being alone
F observed that for him “space, then time were most helpful things to hear from God,
second thing is the outdoors environment … you can go into your self a bit, the outdoors
can provide space and time.”
G suggested “The fact that you were alone, meant God would communicate with you a
lot, it focuses your mind a lot… there are no distracting things. I found myself drawing
inwards, so the alone factor as well as the nature factor.”
When asked what it was that enabled God to communicate to him, B responded, “By
giving me that space on my own, I had time to think.”
2
Time
During his interview G acknowledged, “There is nothing else to do…just sitting there in
wonder.”
B recognised “By sitting still and looking at things, you have time to contemplate what
you see.”
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3
Beauty (God’s creation)
There was a spectacular sunset during the period the participants were by themselves.
All of the participants connected with this piece of natural beauty and this was helpful for
all but one participant in connecting with God. As a result of ‘gazing in wonder’
participants felt loved, worshipped God, reflected on life and had experiences of
forgiveness.
Application
It would appear that God had communicated to my small sample of people in a natural
setting. He communicated metaphorically, through giving a ‘gift of beauty’, through
giving certain feelings, and through an ‘awareness’ of God or their life situation.
It appears to the author that both the content of the findings as well as the process of
uncovering the experiences (i.e. the interview process) have applications for spiritual
directors and the process of spiritual direction.
The following applications are not new insights to the practice of spiritual direction,
however I believe they are worth noting in that they proved beneficial in a controlled
experiential situation. Therefore these applications may be seen as confirmation of the
current practices and principles of spiritual direction.
i)
A spiritual director needs to listen for religious experience in the life experience
of the directee.
It was apparent in my research that people are not always conscious of religious
experience when it is occurring. At the beginning of the interviews I conducted, three
participants claimed to not have heard from God. By the end of the interview two of
these participants could clearly articulate what and how God had communicated. It
seems this change had occurred by going back to reported experiences and encouraging
the participants to spend some more time with these events. The events I encouraged the
participants to go back to were chosen because I perceived they might contain
communication from God for the participant. Although I initiated the focus on specific
events, it was ultimately the participants (directees) responsibility to decide if
communication had occurred.
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ii)
A spiritual director can help find significant parallels in the seemingly natural
events and observations of a directee’s experience.14
It appeared in my research that God communicated through a ‘parallel-type process’.
The participant observed, or experienced an event, and this paralleled a message or event
that needed to be drawn to their attention. Often this parallel came into awareness
through the process of reflecting on the event. An example, earlier quoted, was when G
was reflecting on her struggle with getting up:
“…Waking up in the morning …and not wanting to get up because it was cold,
just feeling safe and secure, and not wanting to go…that is probably a metaphor,
not really wanting to go out” (G)
In this case, the metaphor was recognised because I led G back to the event and allowed
her to retell her story. This example proved to be a significant insight for G and allowed
a sub-conscious feeling to become conscious.
ii)
A spiritual director can help focus communication from God by helping to make
connections between specific events in a directee’s experience.
It appeared that if God had a message for a participant, He often chose to communicate
that message in a number of different ways. There were at least two participants who
during their interview became aware of the same message resurfacing in different forms.
To continue the example with G, previous to the “getting up metaphor”, she had
experienced some emotions of guilt around not doing what she felt a passion for. At a
different time in the solo experience she had also had a sense that God was saying, “don’t
just think about these good things but act on them”. G had not made a connection
between these three events. During the interview she became aware of the link. This
obviously brought this message into focus and G was in no doubt that she needed to make
a decision about her response to this message.
iv)
A spiritual director can help a directee re-live and deepen religious experience.
For many of the participants it was when they were invited to remember the experience,
to reconnect with the feelings and thoughts that had occurred that they discovered God in
that experience. They also often experienced the same feelings again in the interview as
they had during the event. An example was when F was recalling looking at the stars and
thinking about how big God was and that He had everything in control. He remembers
having a sense of peace. During the interview, he again experienced that same feeling:
“because we have been talking about it (that experience of peace), I kind of feel that
now”.
14
This point is in some ways a sub-point of the first application. It focuses on one specific type of
communication the director may need to be listening for.
11
v)
A spiritual director can encourage a directee to put ‘enablers’ in place in their
lives, to allow God to speak.15
As has been recognised, being in a situation which meant the participants were alone, had
a period of time with few distractions and could experience beauty enabled them to more
clearly hear God’s communication. In my research situation, being in Creation enabled
this communication to occur. It is interesting to note however that none of the three
“enablers” are specific to a natural setting. It is possible to be alone, to take time, and to
observe beauty in many situations. It may not always be possible for a directee to engage
with creation, it may however be possible to put in place “the enablers” which may
enhance the possibility of a directee hearing God communicate. Encouraging a directee
to do so may therefore be an important role for the director.
Henri Nouwen has used the term “Spiritual Disciplines” and defined these, as “the effort to create space
to allow God to speak”.
15
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Summary
I began my research questioning if God communicated to individuals in a natural setting.
If it appeared He did communicate, I was interested in discovering what forms this
communication took. I would then also wonder, what it was about nature that helped this
communication to occur.
My reading indicated that the Biblical account has many examples where individuals
experienced the communication of God through His Creation. Both Jesus and St Paul
validated this experience with their teaching.
It appears that elements of the Christian tradition have always recognised the validity and
experience of God communicating through nature. However, there have been periods of
time when the mainstream thought of the Christian church paralleled the prevailing
worldview and minimised the place of nature.
My research involving a small group of people indicated that they too experienced God
while in a natural setting. All the individuals had different experiences, however some
common themes occurred. They reported experiencing God while observing their inner
and outer worlds. This occurred through discovering metaphors, observing beauty,
experiencing feelings, and gaining an ‘awareness’ of God or themselves.
The factors which the participants indicating as being important in experiencing God
were being alone, having time, and observing beauty.
It became apparent through the research that the interview process, which in many ways
paralleled a spiritual direction session, had an important role in confirming the experience
of God communicating.
As I continue my journey and head into the bush, stroll the beach and wander over the
rocks in an attempt to commune with my God, I will do so knowing I follow in the
footsteps of the Biblical characters, of Jesus Christ, of the Christian Fathers and Mothers
and of my fellow pilgrims. I am assured that God can indeed be found in these places. I
can encourage those I journey with to discover the God who lives within and the God
who can be found out there!
13
Bibliography
Clissold, Stephen. The Wisdom of St Francis and His Companions. Sheldon Press:
London, 1978.
Cooper, Tim. Green Christianity. Hodder and Stoughton Publishers: London, 1990.
DeVos, P. De Witt, C. Dykema, V. Ehlers, V. & Wilkinson, L. Earth Keeping in the
Nineties. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, Michigan,
1991.
Durka, Gloria. Praying with Julian of Norwich. St Mary’s Press: Winona, 1989.
Hawker, Paul. Secret Affairs of the Soul. Northstone Publishing: Kelowna, BC, 2000.
Lewis, C.S. The Weight of Glory (A sermon first given at the church of St Mary of the
Virgin, Oxford, June 8, 1941) published in Transposition and other Addresses.
Geoffrey Bles Ltd: London, 1949.
Uhle, Gabriel (ed.). Meditations with Hildegard of Bingen. Bear & Co: Santa Fe, NM,
1982.
Brendon Ojala is a Youth Worker with the Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
Box 7131
WELLINGTON SOUTH
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